Meet Me Under The Mistletoe
by UtterlyRandom
Summary: What can come from a skiing accident? Alex Russo and Shane Gray go through the twists and turns of a relationship. Dodging parents and siblings, but in a life of lies how do you know what's real and what's not? CR/WOWP! Shalex, side of Nalex. For Cara!
1. Chapter One: Trips and Slips

**Summary**: Alex Russo and her family go to a skiing lodge for their winter break vacation, as well as Shane Gray and his family. What can come from a skiing accident? Alex Russo and Shane Gray go through the twists and turns of a relationship. Dodging parents and siblings, but in a life of lies how do you know what's real and what's not? Find out in: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe!

**Rating**: _M_

**Author**: UtterlyRandom

**Disclaimer**: _I'm only saying this once... I don't own anything but the plot._

**Chapter Name**: Trips and Slips

**Dedication:** Thanks to Mollie for the AWESOME advice on this story! You practically own the plot, but thanks for giving the rights to me! And thanks to everyone for saying they wanted a straight Shalex story (I'll try to keep the Nalex out!), thanks to Mollie and everyone who likes Shalex...you're all bloody awesome! (Lol, I'm a Brit!) This is also for Cara, because she is everything I am not, and a lovely combination of everything that I am. Love you!

_**JBJBJB**_

Alex Russo was super excited. Every year, her family went somewhere cool for vacation. One year they went to Disneyland and the next year they went to the Grand Canyon. Her life was full of awesome vacations and Alex couldn't wait to hear this year's vacation destination. She walked into the living room, where the rest of her family was already seated. Her mother, Theresa, and her father, Jerry, looked as excited as she felt. Her brothers, seventeen year old Justin and thirteen year old Max, were excited as well. She sat beside her brothers and looked at her parents.

"Okay, now that you're all here, I'm proud to announce that we will once again be going on a memorable vacation! This year we will be going to Sugar Creek, Colorado. We'll be staying at Hopewell Lodge. There's so much to do there! Ice skating, hockey, snowboarding, skiing and other sports. And we're going at the best time! The day before we leave is the end of a series of competitions there! We'll get to go and see people compete! And at the end, there is a dance, won't that be fun?" Theresa asked.

"Yeah...do they have Internet access there?" Justin asked, making his whole family roll their eyes.

"Yes, Justin. Unless there's a snowstorm." Jerry answered, Justin smiled, but Internet access was the last thing on Alex's mind.

"When do we leave?" She asked. Her mother smiled at her.

"In two days, but don't worry. We got you guys some stuff for the trip." Theresa and Jerry got up and pulled bunches of items from the closets. Alex was handed a purple suitcase set, while Justin got a black set and Max got a green set. They each got a matching snowsuit, hats, gloves, earmuffs, scarves and goggles. Alex got white boots, Max got black boots and Justin got silver boots. Alex received white ice skates, Max got a green and black snowboard and Justin got some sick red and black skis with blood red poles. Alex squealed and hugged her mom.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh! This is _so_ cool!" She said, pulling her ice skates on and walking around on them.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Mrs. Russo laughed. She stared at Alex, whom was wobbling around the room in her ice skates. "Um, honey, what are you doing?" She asked. Alex didn't stop walking in the skates.

"It takes ten days minimum to break in new ice skates. So, until we leave, I'm breaking these babies in." She explained. Jerry and Theresa exchanged an amused look. Justin, on the other hand, rolled his eyes.

"We'll be there for twenty one days, Alex. You have plenty of time to break them in." He pointed out. Alex ignored him and continued to walk around in her new ice skates.

"I don't care." At that moment, she turned and fell onto the hardwood floor. Tears sprang to her eyes as she landed on her butt. Hard. Theresa and Jerry hurried to her and pulled her off the floor.

"Take them off before you break a bone." Jerry ordered. Alex sniffled and pulled off the skates. Jerry took them from her and walked away. Theresa rubbed Alex's back lovingly.

"Why don't you guys start packing? We are staying for twenty one days and you'll need extra clothes. I think you should start packing now so we aren't running around last minute. We'll go shopping while we're there. The lodge has a formal dance that they call Snow Ball. Isn't that cute?" Theresa gushed.

"Oh! Just adorable!" Justin said in a peppy voice. Theresa glared at him before smirking.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Justin. You and Max are going to go to the dance. Pack dress clothes. And dance shoes. And don't even think about not packing them because I'm checking your bags before we leave. Now, you two start packing." Theresa watched her sons grumble as they left the room, going to pack. Theresa turned back to Alex.

"We'll buy you a dress while we're there. It'll be so much fun, don't you think?" She asked. Alex smiled and gathered up her suitcase set and new clothes.

"Yes! I'm going to start packing! Mom, I swear, this sounds like it'll be the best vacation so far!" Alex exclaimed.

Theresa laughed. "Alex, you say that every year." She pointed out. Alex smiled.

"Well, you keep topping last year's awesome vacation, not that I'm complaining!" She left on that note. She ran up the stairs to her room. She dumped all her new stuff on her bed and began to pack. Most of the outfits she packed were skinny jeans, but she threw in her most comfortable pairs of sweatpants, sweaters, hoodies and skirts. She packed for every occasion. In the last bag she put in her toiletries, books and the like. It took her over three hours to make sure she had everything she wanted or could possibly need, but she was done. She wasn't tired, though. In fact, she felt like she could run all through Central Park at top speed off of her excitement high. She had a very good vibe about this vacation, but she didn't know why. She didn't mind, though. She always followed her heart and her dreams and it had worked out for her so far, so why fix what wasn't broken?

xXx

Two days later, Alex was on a plane to Sugar Creek, Colorado. They had taken three taxis to the airport to hold all of the luggage and, of course, themselves. Alex was so giddy, she literally was bouncing in the comfortable airplane seat. She couldn't wait to get there! As an early Christmas present, her parents had given her a new camera. She had taken pictures of herself and her entire family on the plane. She planned on making a scrapbook when they got back to New York, but for now she took pictures. She could plug the camera into her laptop and edit the pictures. The rest of her family was asleep and after an hour, Alex decided sleep might be a good thing after all. She curled up into a ball on the plane and closed her eyes, not opening them until the plane hit the runway.

xXx

Again, the Russos' took three taxis to the lodge. Alex rode with Max, Mr. and Mrs. Russo rode together and Justin rode alone.

"I can't wait to check out the hockey! I'm going to take lessons." Max told his older sister. Alex blinked in surprise.

"But you got a snowboard, I'm the one with ice skates." She pointed out. Max shrugged indifferently.

"I can rent skates at the lodge. And I'll snowboard when I'm not taking lessons. I just want to try hockey." Max said, leaning forward. Alex followed his gaze.

"Oh my gosh! There it is! Hopewell Lodge! Max, we're there!" Alex squealed, grabbing her younger brother's arm tightly, making him wince.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get off of me!" He shook her off and examined his arm before answering her squeals. "As soon as we check in, I'm signing up for sports and stuff." He decided.

"Not me. I'm stealing Justin's gear and going skiing." Alex said. Max glanced at his sister uneasily as the taxi stopped right outside of Hopewell Lodge.

"Are you sure Alex? Maybe you should take some lessons first." Max said. Alex blew his advice off.

"Lessons, schmessons. I'll be fine." She opened the taxi door and climbed out of the cab, Max on her heels. They followed their parents and older brother into the lodge.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Jerry Russo and I rented three cabins for my family and I." Jerry said. The woman at the check-in desk smiled at the family.

"Okay...Mr. Russo..." She scanned the guest list before looking up. "You have the _Winter Wonderland_, _Gingerbread_ _Man_ and the _Mystic Mistletoe_ cabins. Please enjoy your stay here at Hopewell Lodge." The lady said, handing Alex's father three keys on three separate key chains. One key chain was shaped like a snowflake. Another one was shaped like a gingerbread man and the last key chain was shaped like mistletoe.

"Thank you." He faced his family. "Okay, your mother and I will be sharing the _Winter Wonderland_ cabin. Justin and Max will share the _Gingerbread Man_ cabin and Alex will have the _Mystic Mistletoe_ cabin to herself." Jerry said, handing Justin the key with the key chain shaped like a gingerbread man and Alex the key with the key chain shaped like mistletoe, keeping the key with the key chain shaped like a snowflake for himself and Theresa.

"Hey! Why does Alex get her own cabin?" Max whined.

"Because she's a young lady." Theresa responded, giving him a look for acting so childishly in public. Alex smiled at her mom.

"Well, let's go back to our cabins to unpack. Then we can go separate ways." Theresa said as they left the lodge. They split up, Justin and Max in one taxi, Theresa and Jerry in one together, and Alex alone.

Alex's taxi had all of her stuff and Justin's ski gear. She planned on skiing as soon as she was done unpacking, anyway. Alex's cabin was closer to the slopes, but her parents' and brothers' cabins were close to the lodge. There was another cabin by her's, but it was a good ten minutes walk away. The taxi stopped outside of her cabin. Alex took out her key and unlocked the door. She and the taxi driver unloaded the trunk and carried the things into her cabin and then he left. He had been prepaid, so she didn't have to pay him. Alex shut the door to her cabin and slipped the key off of the mistletoe key chain and slipped the key onto her necklace chain, so she wouldn't lose it. She looked around her cabin.

The whole cabin was made of light tan logs and had a hardwood floor. There was a fireplace in the main room with a couch, armchair and coffee table. There was also a TV and a VCR/DVD player. Alex smiled and explored the room on her left. It was a bedroom with one king-sized bed, a heater, bedside table, dresser and closet. Alex unpacked her clothes, boots and coats and put them in the closets and dressers. She put her books on the bedside table shelves. Then she explored the bathroom, which was on the left side of the main room. She unpacked her towels, shampoo, conditioner, hair products, body wash, loofah, her straightener, blow dryer, curler, hair brush and so on. When everything was unpacked, Alex put her empty suitcases in the closet in her room and began to get dressed to go skiing.

xXx

Shane, Jason and Nate Gray checked into their cabins with their parents, Denise and Paul Gray. Once they got the cabin arrangements, they took their separate cars to go to their cabins. Denise and Paul Gray were in the _Igloo_ cabin, but their sons were in the cabin by the slopes in _Santa's Workshop_. The three brothers rode in Jason's black Chevrolet to their cabin.

"Do you see it?" Jason asked, watching the snow-covered road attentively, not wanting to crash.

"Wait! There's a cabin!" Nate called out suddenly, making his older brother Shane jump and Jason to press his foot on the brake slowly, so that they wouldn't spin off of the road. "No, wait. That's the _Mystic Mistletoe_ cabin. Never mind." He said. Jason sighed and took his foot off the brake and placed it on the gas pedal, slowly driving on the snowy road until he got to the last cabin.

"What's this cabin's name?" He asked Shane because it was on Shane's side of the road.

Shane squinted through the thick white snow. "_Santa's Workshop_. Yep! This is our cabin!" Jason parked the car and shut it off. He and his brothers got out. They quickly unloaded the car and then waited for Jason to unlock the door, trying to move around the annoying Santa key chain. Once he finally got the door unlocked and opened, he and his brothers ran inside, stomping snow off their boots and shaking snow out of themselves. They dropped their luggage and equipment and began looking around.

The main room was bare with light tan log walls and tan hardwood floors. There was a couch, armchair, coffee table, TV and a VCR/DVD player by a fireplace. There were three doors. One on the left, one on the right and one straight ahead. Nate went to the right Jason took the door straight ahead and Shane took the one on the left.

Jason and Nate's rooms looked exactly the same. Both rooms had a twin bed, dresser, bedside table, heater and closet. Shane's room had a sink, toilet and tub.

"Uh...guys? I think I found the bathroom. So...where's my room?" He asked. Nate and Jason shrugged.

"It could be the living room." Jason offered.

"What? No way! I need a bed!" Shane argued.

"Well, you can't have mine." Nate stated.

"Or mine." Jason quickly added.

"Fine. Then there's only one way to settle this." Nate said, a gleam in his eyes. His brothers rushed to him, fists out.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" They shouted in unison. Jason and Nate both had paper, but Shane had rock. He groaned.

"Fine, but I get to use half a closet and half a dresser." He commanded, mad at his loss.

"It's a deal." Nate said, shaking hands with Shane. Jason did the same.

"Let's go ski on some powder while it's still fresh." Jason said, looking out at the slopes from the window in his room.

"Or in Shane's case, _eat_ the powder." Nate joked. He and Jason disappeared into their rooms. Shane grabbed his snow gear and went into the bathroom, slamming the wood door behind him.

xXx

Alex felt like she was getting the hang of the kiddie slopes. So she went to the intermediate slope. She gulped, looking up at the huge slope. She decided to take baby steps. Well, baby slides, considering she had long skis attached to her feet. Step One: Get on the lift. It took her ten minutes to get on. A trio of people were a couple of ski lift chairs behind her and she hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself going down the hill. She tensed, getting ready to get off the lift, but she jumped off a little late, making the drop even higher. Alex sped down the slope.

xXx

Jason, Shane and Nate stood at the top of the intermediate slope in their skiing gear, skis and all. "Last one down sleeps on the couch the entire trip!" Shane shouted, pushing off the top of the slope using his dark blue poles. He sped downhill, gathering speed. He narrowly avoided some trees and almost hit another person skiing. Nate and Jason flew by him, leaving a cloud of snow in their wake, making Shane choke and unable to see. When he finally cleared the snow cloud, he saw a person skiing hit a bump on the slope and go flying through the air. The skier landed with a loud, sickening _CRUNCH_! Shane slowed down the best he could, making sure the skier was okay. The skier didn't move. Shane forgot how to stop and landed on his butt, on purpose, and skidded to the skier's crumpled body, hoping to God he did not just witness a person's death.

_**JBJBJB**_

_Okay, how was that for a first chapter? Yes, that is Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place. So, tell me what you thought. Justin and his Internet, goofball. The Gray brothers settling rooming arrangements with a game of Paper, Scissors, Rock. Don't you love them. Tell me what you think will happen, it'll happen with the next couple of chapters. Again, shout out to Mollie, _YOU ROCK_! Cara, again, you are my soul sister. No reference to that stupid song, though. :p_

**Chapter:** Dates and Dinner Plans

**Summary:** "Are you okay?" He asked. The skier didn't move. Shane pulled off the skier's hat and goggles. A mass of long, thick and wavy brown hair pooled around the skier's head. The skier was a girl, a very pretty, very _unconscious_, girl. Shane took off his skis and the girl's skis and picked the girl up in his arms. He saw something silver on a chain around her neck. He peered at it.

_Note: Sorry, Bethany, just HAD to put a cliffhanger in there!_


	2. Chapter Two: Dates and Dinner Plans

**Summary**: _Alex Russo and her family go to a skiing lodge for their winter break vacation, as well as Shane Gray and his family. What can come from a skiing accident? Fifteen year old Alex Russo and seventeen year old Shane Gray go through the twists and turns of a relationship. To stay together, they have to dodge their parents and siblings, but in a life of lies how do you know what's real and what's not? Find out in:_ Meet Me Under the Mistletoe!

**Rating**: _T_

**Author**: UtterlyRandom

**Disclaimer**: _I'm only saying this once... I don't own anything but the plot._

**Chapter Name**: Dates and Dinner Plans

_**JBJBJB**_

"Are you okay?" He asked. The skier didn't move. Shane pulled off the skier's hat and goggles. A mass of long, thick and wavy brown hair pooled around the skier's head. The skier was a girl, a very pretty, very unconscious, girl. Shane took off his skis and the girl's skis and picked the girl up in his arms. He saw something silver on a chain around her neck. He peered at it.

It was a key. Squinting, Shane read it out loud. "_Mystic Mistletoe_." He knew where the cabin was. He began to carry the girl to the cabin.

xXx

Shane stood over the girl, whom was unconscious on the couch in her cabin. He had called the lodge doctor and was waiting for him. He tried to keep the girl as warm as possible. He threw extra logs in the fireplace and took off the girl's jacket, gloves and hat. He covered the girl up with a warm blanket and sat in the armchair. He took out his cell phone just as it began vibrating in his hand.

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

"Shane!" He heard the relief in his older brother's voice. "Thank God! What the hell happened to you? Nate and I have been looking for you _forever_! Where are you? Are you hurt?" Shane's one and only (thank God!) older brother asked in a concerned/angry voice only a brother as caring and experienced as Jason could develop.

"Um...I was skiing and now I'm at a girl's cabin, but she's hurt. Not me." Shane explained without explaining the whole situation.

"What? What did you do to her Shane?" Jason groaned.

Shane opened his mouth to answer and defend himself, that he hadn't done anything wrong, but a knock sounded from the door. Shane looked out the front window.

"Uh, listen Jase, I gotta go. The doctor's here. I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye." Shane quickly ended the conversation on his iPhone. He opened the door and let the doctor in.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Rebecca Walters." The doctor said, holding out her hand.

Shane grasped it and shook it firmly. "I'm Shane Gray." He pointed to the couch. "That's the girl I saw fall. I don't know her name, but this is her cabin." Shane said.

The doctor cast him a judgmental glance before walking over to the girl, lugging a medical bag. She peeled the blanket off the girl and opened up her bag. She took out a stick of smelling salt and ran it under the girl's nose. The girl sat up, blinking and looking around, dazed.

"Hi honey. I'm Dr. Rebecca Walters. Can you tell me what happened to you?" She asked. The girl nodded.

"I was skiing alone and going down the slope really fast and must've hit a jump or a rock or something because I went flying into the air and landed on my ankle." She pulled up her right pant leg, revealing a red, swollen ankle. The doctor whistled.

"Yep. It's sprained." She began shuffling through her medical bag. "Shane, can you take off her boot and sock and push up the pant leg?" Dr. Walters asked Shane. He nodded and took off the girl's boot and sock and pulled up the pant leg. He had to hold it up by her thigh to keep it out of the way. He smiled at the girl.

"Hey, I'm Shane. I'm the one who brought you here." He said and the girl return the smile.

"Hi. I'm Alex." She blushed and ducked her head, peeking at Shane through her long and thick black eyelashes.

Dr. Walters smiled at the pair, who were staring into each other's eyes. She began to bind Alex's ankle with beige medical tape. She made quick work of it and handed Alex a big snow boot.

"You'll need to wear this. And use crutches. They're back at the lodge." She told Alex and Shane smiled.

"Do you need help getting to the lodge?" Shane asked Alex. She blushed.

"Um...yeah." She glanced at Dr. Walters.

"I'll need to rebind it in a couple of days. I'll come back on Friday, okay?" Dr. Walters asked. Alex nodded and Dr. Walters gathered up her medical supplies. "The crutches are behind the front desk. Tell the receptionist that Dr. Walters sent you." She waved and left, shutting Alex's cabin door behind her. Shane turned to Alex.

"Thanks for helping me." Alex thanked him shyly.

He smiled easily at her and Alex was dazed for a second. This incredibly adorable (not to mention hot!) guy had just saved her life! Sure, he didn't stop the fall, but if he hadn't of helped, she would've hurt herself worse trying to get back to her cabin alone. She stared back up at him, studying him. He had glowing tan skin and longish black hair that made her want to pet it, it looked so shiny and soft! Not to mention those amazing brown eyes. And that smile! He showed white, perfectly straight teeth, stretching those desirable pink lips of his, setting her frantically beating heart at ease...

_Wait!_ Alex thought,_ Since when are his lips desirable, Russo? '_Amazing_' brown eyes? Running your fingers through his hair just because it looks shiny and soft? And '_glowing_' tan skin? You sound like you're in a romance novel! Well, wake up and eat the yellow snow, because you're _not_! This guy was just being nice, and you sound like you're in love with him! _Alex chided herself, not noticing Shane's eyes peering at her face in worry and confusion.

"Alex...are you feeling okay? Do you want me to go get the doctor?" Shane asked, starting toward the door. Alex shook her head frantically.

"No! I'm still a little dizzy and disoriented from that fall." She lied smoothly, like it was second nature. Shane smiled at her and she continued, "Thanks for helping me, though. If you hadn't, I'd be in much worse shape, I'm sure." She laughed gently.

"It's no big deal. Any guy would've done the same." Shane replied modestly. Alex raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Okay, maybe not _any_ guy. But any halfway decent guy would've done the same." Shane amended and Alex laughed.

"Sure." She yawned and stretching, rising to a sitting position on the couch, her newly bound ankle looking pitiful and red, from swelling and the cold. Alex studied it before speaking. "I think I'm going to go to the lodge and get those crutches." Alex said, gingerly putting on the snow boot that Dr. Walters had given her. She put on her gloves and jacket and hat. Shane helped her up, all of her weight on her left foot, keeping her right foot off of the ground. Shane thought for a moment.

"I'll give you a piggyback ride to the lodge. I'm meeting my brothers there for lunch, anyway." Shane explained, putting on his own gloves, hat and jacket. Alex blushed as he prepared for the cold.

"You want to give me a piggyback ride all the way to the lodge?" Alex asked doubtfully, biting her lip. Not that she didn't want to jump on this hot, older boy's back and have him take her back to the lodge. _It's just...I don't know him. And I know that I'm not in New York anymore, but I don't think it's exactly safe...then again, if he had wanted to hurt me, why __would he pick me up and take me back to my cabin and call a doctor? He's harmless._ Alex decided.

"Yes! Now, come on aboard _S.S. Shane_!" Shane said, kneeling down for her to hop onto his back. Alex giggled.

"You do know that '_S.S._' is for ships, right?" She asked, swinging one leg onto his back and eased her other leg onto his back. He grabbed the undersides of Alex's thighs to keep her from falling off of his back.

"So? Then I'm a spaceship." He corrected himself, turning his head to look over his shoulder at Alex, smiling at her, making her insides melt. He didn't notice his passenger's internal meltdown, though. Alex sighed with relief as he carried her out of her cabin. She pulled the door shut behind them and Shane carried her all the way to the lodge, carefully watching the ground so he wouldn't slip and land on her or something much more disastrous.

xXx

Shane carried Alex up to the receptionists desk and Alex reached over his shoulder to ding the bell. A little old lady came scurrying from a back room and sat behind the desk.

"Good afternoon, I'm Mrs. Hopewell. How may I help you children?" She asked, her face kind and gentle, like a grandmother's.

"Hi, I'm Alex and this is Shane." Alex said, pointing to the top of Shane's head. He waved a little, but quickly grabbed Alex's leg again. "I sprained my ankle on the slopes today and Dr. Walters sent me here to get crutches." Alex said. The old lady smiled.

"Ah, yes dear. Of course." She went to the back room again and returned a short while later with a pair of crutches. She lifted them over the counter and handed them to Alex. Shane held them as Alex slid off of his back, landing on her bad foot.

"Owww!" She yelped as she jumped up and down on one foot. Shane grabbed her arms and balanced her, dropping the crutches in the process. They both bent down at the same time to retrieve the fallen crutches, but knocked their heads together instead.

"Ouch!" They yelped in unison and fell backwards on their butts. Alex rubbed her ankle and head as Shane rubbed his head and butt.

"You're a klutz." Alex said, trying to look mad, but ruined it by smiling.

"You're a danger to society." Shane retorted and Alex laughed. Shane stood up and helped Alex to her feet, well, foot. "_I'll_ get the crutches." He bent down and picked them up before handing them to her. Alex smiled and took them from him and started hopping around the lodge lobby with them. Shane smiled and she stopped right in front of him.

"Hey, do you want to meet me back here for dinner at the lodge? Cocoa's on me." Shane offered, a little nervous, but he didn't know why he suddenly had butterflies because Alex was younger than him and it was just cocoa... _I just want to make sure she's okay. After all, I _did_ rescue her, I have the right to make sure she's still fine_, Shane justified his intentions to himself.

Alex smiled. "Yeah. Sure...okay!" She chirped, her warm, brown eyes lighting up brightly. Shane smiled as his cell phone vibrated. He checked it.

"Oh, hey, I gotta go meet my brothers for lunch. I'll meet you here at six, okay?" He asked. Alex nodded. "Um...can I have your cell phone number?" He asked, holding out his phone. Alex nodded and took out her cell. They switched cell phones and entered their numbers and handed them back.

"Try not to break something or someone while I'm gone, okay?" Shane teased her, a smirk gracing his lips.

"No promises." Alex smirked back before looking over her shoulder at the lodge door. "I'm gonna go try these out on the snow. Wish me luck! Bye!" Alex hobbled out of the lodge.

"Bye." Shane breathed, long after the heavy wooden lodge door had shut behind Alex.

"Honey, if you play your cards right, cocoa won't be the only thing 'on you' tonight." Mrs. Hopewell said, taking him out of his trance. Shane smiled at the receptionist awkwardly before going off to meet his brothers.

xXx

"Alex! What happened to you?" Theresa Russo exclaimed. Alex sat up from her position on the couch.

"Oh, yeah. I fell down while I was skiing and sprained my ankle. It's no biggie." She said, stretching. Mrs. Russo stared at her daughter in a strange combination of shock, worry and anger.

"Uh, yeah it is! Honey, are you okay? Honestly, you feel fine?" Theresa asked, going into 'mom mode'. She checked Alex's temperature, propped her sprained ankle on a pillow, fluffed the pillows behind her head, fetched her another blanket and got Alex a pile of books and magazines and the remote to the TV.

"Mom, stop! I feel fine! Besides, something good came from all of this." Alex said, gesturing to her ankle.

Theresa raised an eyebrow. "And what good could possibly come from spraining an ankle and missing out on half of our family vacation?" She questioned her daughter. Alex smiled as her cell phone vibrated. Her mom picked up the phone and handed it to Alex, who quickly read the text message.

_Are we still on for 2nite? ~ Shanger_

Alex smiled wider and quickly texted her reply.

_ Yep! Meet me at 6, kay? And wats up with your sig? ~ Alex the Great_

Thirty seconds later, she got another text.

_Awesome. And my sig is Shane and danger combined. For obvious reasons. I love yours, Alex the Great! ~ Shanger_

Alex giggled as her mother tapped her foot impatiently.

_Okay, see ya then, Shanger! ~ Alex the Great_

Alex slid her purple LG Scoop phone shut. Her mother glared at her.

"What good could possibly come from having a sprained ankle for half of vacation?" Her mother repeated her earlier question.

"A date." Alex sighed contentedly, settling back on her new fluffed pillows.

"What?" Theresa shrieked.

xXx

"Dude, stop texting and eat! I'm sure Bridget can go five minutes without you two texting." Jason said between forkfuls of food.

"Shut up! I'm not texting Bridget! We broke up!" Shane snapped, setting his phone on vibrate and slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Then who _were_ you texting?" Nate asked, smirking at Shane when his cheeks turned crimson. Yep. Nate and Jason won the award of Nosiest Brothers of the Year. But they _sooo_ did not deserve a trophy.

"A really cool girl named Alex." Shane replied, trying to gain control of his body temperature.

"You met a girl already?" Shane nodded.

"Dude! I bet she's just like Bridget; stupid, blonde, skinny and only dating you for your money and because you're in Connect 3." Jason responded critically. Shane glared at his older brother.

"Okay, try not to stereotype, okay?" He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "One: Her name is Alex, not Bridget. Two: She's a brunette with these amazingly adorable puppy brown eyes and a cute little nose...um...oh, yeah! Three: She's not skinny, she's thin, but she isn't all bones or all fat. _Juuuussttt_ right. Four: She doesn't know I even have money or that I'm in Connect 3." Shane concluded.

His brothers were silent for a little while. Until...

"Wow. Shane...you sound like you really like Alex." Nate said. Shane paled.

"No. I just met her. I was just making an observation. Jeez, chill out." Shane said smoothly. Nate nodded, accepting his brother's explanation, but not believing it. They ate the rest of their meal with idle chitchat, but they didn't bring up Alex again.

xXx

Alex stood in front of her bathroom mirror, getting ready for her date. She had spent the past two hours calming down her mother, explaining that it was just cocoa and Shane was just a friend. Her mother had decided to go to the spa to 'lose the gray hairs' that Alex had caused to grow. Alex shook her head, smiling. Her mother was such a drama queen! Now, to get back to deciding how to look for her date...

_Wait. Is it even a date? I mean, technically, he asked me for cocoa and that's just being a gentleman. Oh no! What if he thinks I don't like him? Hold on, _do_ I like Shane? He's the same age as Justin, for goodness sake!_ Alex thought as she brushed her wavy brown hair. Suddenly, her bathroom door opened and her mom walked in.

"Honey, you're going to have to cancel your cocoa break. We are having dinner with a very nice couple and their children. I met the woman at the spa and we made plans for our families to have dinner together. I figured that Justin could meet some..._normal_ friends." Theresa cringed, remembering Justin's friends from a Star Trek reunion. Alex also shuddered, remembering the year Justin and his friends had cornered her and made her go trick or treating as Princess Leia for Halloween when she was seven. She snapped out of it, realizing with this little dinner meant.

"Well, I don't see why I have to go when they're gonna be Justin's friends." Alex stated, putting hairspray in her hair, holding her waves in place. Her mother gave her a look via mirror.

"You're going to go because I say so. And dress up decently, I don't want you to make a bad first impression." Theresa told her daughter before leaving the cabin.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want _that_ now would we?" Alex asked sarcastically after the door had shut.

She groaned and went to her room and rifled through her closet. Alex pulled out her black wool leggings and ripped blue jean skirt and evergreen sweater. Green wasn't her best color, but it would have to do. Justin's future geeky friends didn't deserve her best. She put on a tiny bit of eyeliner and lip gloss. She hobbled on her crutches to the main room, pulling on her coat, gloves and scarf. She put on her normal boot and the special boot Dr. Walters had given her. She picked up her cell phone and texted Shane.

_I can't go 2nite. I'm sorry. My mom made plans without telling me and now I have to go. ~ Alex the Great_

She waited a few seconds for Shane to text back. Her cell phone vibrated and she opened the text message.

_Oh ~ Shanger_

Alex groaned. _Great! Now he hates me!_ Her fingers flew over her cell phone's keypad.

_I really am sorry! Maybe we could do something together tomorrow? As long as it can be done on crutches! ~ Alex the Great_

A few seconds later, she got a reply.

_Sure. Breakfast and coffee at the lodge? ~ Shanger_

Alex smiled, picturing herself loaded up with coffee and sugar.

_Yeah, but I get the feeling that you get hyper! ~ Alex the Great_

_So? Hyper is fun cuz you can do crazy moves on stage! ~ Shanger_

Alex stared at the message. _On stage? What the heck does he mean on stage?_ She thought as another message popped up, as if Shane were reading her mind.

_You know? Just hangin out? Like, talent shows and playing songs at dances? ~ Shanger_

Alex beamed. _You play at dances? That's too cool! ~ Alex the Great_

_Yeah, but my brothers and I are on break. ~ Shanger_

Just then, a knock sounded from Alex's door. "Alex! Come on! It's time to go meet Justin's new friends!" Theresa Russo shouted, her voice muffled by the heavy wooden door.

"Just a sec!" She called, zipping up her coat and pulling up her hood. She quickly texted Shane back.

_See you tomorrow at breakfast! I gotta go! ~ Alex the Great_

_Okay, bye! See you in the morning! ~ Shanger_

Alex slid her purple LG Scoop phone shut and put her crutches under her arms. She limped to the door and opened it, revealing her mother. She smiled and shut off the lights in her cabin and shut the door.

"Aren't you going to lock it?" Theresa asked. Alex shook her head.

"No. I trust the people here." Alex's eyes scanned the scenery and landed on the other cabin, which must be Shane and his brother's cabin. It was dark and empty. Alex got butterflies in her stomach when she thought of him. Oh my gosh! He could be at the lodge! Then she brought herself back to face reality. _He's too old for you and he probably has a girlfriend, Alex. He was just being friendly, but still..._ She realized she had been zoning out for awhile.

"I trust the people here with my life." Alex said. Theresa eyed her.

"Honey...did you hit your head when you fell?" She asked, checking Alex's temperature with the back of her hand, which was pointless anyway, considering that it was freezing cold outside. Alex pushed her mother's hand away.

"I'm fine! Can we just get this over with?" Alex snapped, starting down the snow covered street on her crutches. She heard the snow crunching behind her; her mother on her tail. Alex wanted nothing more than to act like a five year old and stomp off, but it didn't happen. She'd only end up in more pain. So she stuck to..._crutching_ her way to the lodge, slipping on ice and snowdrifts along the way.

xXx

Alex hung her coat and gloves in the coat room at the lodge. Her mother was behind her every step of the way.

"Hurry up!" Theresa urged.

Alex shot her mother a look and hobbled on her crutches to the lodge dining room. Alex scanned the tables and found her father and two brothers and an unfamiliar couple and two boys. Her father sat at the head of the table, with the unfamiliar man on his left and an empty chair on his right. Beside the empty chair on his right were her brothers, Max and Justin. The unfamiliar woman sat across from Max and the oldest looking of the two brothers sat across from Justin. There was an empty chair by Justin and across from the boy that looked her age.

"Sit down!" Theresa hissed, embarrassed by her daughter's staring.

Barely restraining the urge to roll her eyes, Alex moved toward the table, limping with her crutches. As she neared the table, the bottom of her crutch got caught on a piece of the rug sticking up. She fell toward the floor, the odd embroidered rug looming closer, but a sharp jerk around her waist kept her from face-planting. She was set upright, balanced on her crutches. Alex slowly turned around to look at her savior. She saw a familiar pair of brown eyes and a hot, sexy mess of black hair.

"Shane." Alex exhaled, suddenly breathless, whether from the scare of almost falling or from having Shane save her from worse injury, again, she didn't know. Shane smiled at her, once again making her insides melt. She stared up at him in shock.

"I though I told you not to go killing yourself while I was gone." Shane teased lightly, his auburn eyes twinkling with friendly mischief. Alex smiled back at him.

"Well, why should I watch out for my own life when I've got you to do that for me?" Alex asked flirtatiously, grinning just as mischievously. Shane's grin widened and, suddenly, Alex was breathless all over again.

"Wait, what are you doing here? I though you had called off our da- coffee...um, plans." Shane said nervously, hoping that she wouldn't want to go out now.

Alex laughed. "_Me_? What are _you_ doing here?" Shane smirked.

"I asked you first." He said in a childish singsong voice. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm here because my mom forced me to cancel our da- whatever. I'm going to call it a date. Anyway, I was forced to cancel our date because my mom wants my dorky brother to make more friends." Alex finished. "Sooo...why are you here?"

Shane gave her a small, secret smile, as if they were sharing a secret together. And that smile made Alex's heart pound and her blood pulse, burning her ears and face. Shane leaned closer, bending his head down toward hers. She unconsciously leaned forward, not wanting to miss a single word escaping from those beautiful lips..._Get a grip, Russo!_ _He'll never think of you like that. You're just a cute little girl to him. He's the kind of guy who dates curvy, busty blondes, not thin, loudmouthed, klutzy, stubborn brunettes._ She looked up at him, his dark brown eyes sparkling as they stared into hers. _Still...it_ _doesn't mean I can't wish otherwise._ She mused, staring into those deep pools of humor, laughter and purity.

"I'm one of those boys who is going to be your brother's future friend." Shane said. Alex cringed and leaned back.

"I feel sooo bad for you." She consoled him sympathetically, patting his shoulder with sympathy. Behind her, she heard someone clear their throat. She turned, missing the sight of Shane shivering from her touch and his whole face to the back of neck flush a dark red. Alex faced her mother.

"Yes?" Alex snipped. Her mother gave her a reproving look.

"Honey, sit down by Justin." Theresa suggested, her voice dripping with forced sweetness, but Alex knew her mother well enough that the sweets were frozen in that voice.

The middle Russo child sighed and limped over to Justin and sat down by him. Shane took her crutches and placed them under the table. He sat down at the head of the table opposite of her dad, but on her right. Shane smiled at the Russo family, but they glared politely at him. His smile faltered. Alex offered a small smile to Shane's family and they stared at her, unsure, but welcoming. Shane looked away from the Russo family and settled his eyes on Alex. He smiled lightly at her, but for some reason, his heart broke.

_Whoa, Danger! Red Alert! Code Red! Heartbreaking? No! Cause that would mean that you want to be with __Alex..._At the thought of her, his heartbeat sped up and he felt like holding her hand and throwing those stupid crutches of hers through a wood chipper and give her piggyback rides for the rest of the trip. _No! You can't like her, Shane! She's fifteen, you're seventeen. She's _Nate's_ age, for God's sake!_ Still, it didn't stop him from casually resting his fist by her hand, his knuckles grazing the skin on her wrist. He carefully monitored her reaction from the corner of his eyes. She shivered, but a pleasant glow rose in her cheeks. Shane smirked to himself, not realizing that he had just made the first big step into a path of the untraveled and unknown. He'd have to guide Alex, his little cripple. _His_. Well, she would be. He just needed the chance to talk to her alone. _Tomorrow at breakfast._ He decided. _That's when I'll ask her to be my girlfriend._

_**JBJBJB**_

**Chapter Three:** _Giggles and Girlfriends_

**Summary:** _Alex nodded and Shane stepped back, revealing a black and silver glitter snowmobile. She squealed and crutched her way to the beautiful piece of machinery. Shane smiled wider and shut the cabin door for her. He handed her a black and glittering silver matching helmet and put on his own. Alex sat on the back while Shane sat in front. He put her crutches on his lap and revved up the motor. He pressed his foot to the pedal and the snowmobile launched forward. Alex let out a yelp and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Shane and clasping her hands together, making herself slide forward until her chest was against his back and the insides of her thighs were squeezing against the outside of his thighs. Shane smirked and quickly made the snowmobile go faster, making Alex's grip on him tighten. One thing was for sure, he was never going to slow down the snowmobile._


	3. Chapter Three: Giggles and Girlfriends

**Summary**: _Alex Russo and her family go to a skiing lodge for their winter break vacation, as well as Shane Gray and his family. What can come from a skiing accident? Fifteen year old Alex Russo and seventeen year old Shane Gray go through the twists and turns of a relationship. To stay together, they have to dodge their parents and siblings, but in a life of lies how do you know what's real and what's not? Find out in:_ Meet Me Under the Mistletoe!

**Rating**: _T_

**Author**: UtterlyRandom

**Disclaimer**: _I'm only saying this once... I don't own anything but the plot._

**Chapter Name**: _Giggles and Girlfriends_

_**JBJBJB**_

Alex woke up early the next morning to get ready to have breakfast with Shane. She stepped into the tub, after putting a plastic bag over her sprained ankle and hanging her foot over the end of the tub, trying not to get it wet. Goosebumps were already forming over her skin from the cold. She turned it on, once she figured out that left was hot, not right. She quickly washed her hair with Herbal Essences Drama Clean shampoo and conditioner. Then she scrubbed her body with vanilla and honey scented body wash and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped her head up in a towel and dried off her body. Alex slipped on her underwear and her bra and cami before she left the hot, steaming bathroom.

Alex made it to her room in five leaps on her crutches. She hopped to her closet and pulled out light gray skinny Paris Blue jeans and her black Aeropostale 87 t-shirt. She sat down to pull on her bed to pull on the jeans, carefully working them over her sore ankle. She pulled on her shirt and her dark gray hoodie. She put on her boots, one regular one for her left foot and the one Dr. Walters had given her for her right foot. Alex crutched her way back to the bathroom to do her hair, She flat ironed it and pulled it up into a ponytail. She put on some watermelon Wetsticks lip gloss and then pulled on her coat and gloves, just as someone knocked on the cabin door.

Alex opened the door awkwardly with one hand. She stepped back and swung the door open all the way, resting all her weight on her crutches, to reveal Shane. Alex's eyes widened when she saw him.

Shane was wearing dark gray skinny jeans, a hoodie the color of dark sour green apples and snow boots. He had green matching gloves and a scarf on, but no jacket. His dark brown hair was straightened and looked spiky at the ends, but not pointy, they just seemed to curve naturally. The most amazing thing he wore was that inside-melting charming smile of his. His maple brown eyes were sparkling into hers, making a faint pink blush rise in Alex's cheeks.

"Hey, Alex. Are you ready to have breakfast with me?" Shane asked Alex, his charming smile never leaving his face.

Alex nodded and Shane stepped back, revealing a black snowmobile with silver glitter accents. She squealed and crutched her way to the beautiful piece of machinery. Shane smiled wider and shut the cabin door for her. He handed her a black and glittering silver matching helmet and put on his own. Alex sat on the back while Shane sat in front. He put her crutches on his lap and revved up the motor. He pressed his foot to the pedal and the snowmobile launched forward. Alex let out a yelp and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Shane and clasping her hands together, making herself slide forward until her chest was against his back and the insides of her thighs were squeezing against the outside of his thighs. Shane smirked and quickly made the snowmobile go faster, making Alex's grip on him tighten. One thing was for sure, he was _never_ going to slow down the snowmobile.

Shane stopped the snowmobile abruptly outside of the lodge, making them skid and spraying snow everywhere. Shane lifted his helmet off and picked the crutches off of his lap. Alex hesitantly unwrapped her arms from around his midsection. Shane got off of the bike snowmobile and helped Alex up and handed her the crutches. Alex smiled gratefully at Shane before jerking her head toward the lodge. Shane smiled and took off her helmet for her and placed it on the snowmobile. He walked next to her, his long strides keeping up with her crutches-assisted leaps. He opened the door and they entered the lodge, shaking snow off of themselves, stomping the snow off of their boots and putting their coats, gloves and scarves into the cloakroom. They went into the lodge dining room.

"Oh! Shane, look! A buffet! Oh my gosh, I _love_ buffets!" Alex exclaimed excitedly. Shane smiled at his soon to be girlfriend, as long as he had his way. Which he would...hopefully.

"Well, that's good, considering that's what we're having." Shane told her. Alex's face lit up.

"Goody!" Alex said, awkwardly holding her crutches under her armpits as she hopped up and down on her good foot and clapped her legs together. When people gave her odd looks, she stopped. "Okay, I'm done acting like I'm three." She said as Shane picked out a couples booth and threw his hoodie on it, claiming it.

Alex smiled and followed him to the buffet. Shane looked at her and saw her reach for a plate, nearly dropping her crutches. He jogged the few steps to Alex and grabbed her shoulders and snatched the plate from her hand so she wouldn't fall.

"Alex, why don't you tell me what you want and I'll get it for you and we'll be safe from any more injuries. Cause I've fallen on broken glass before and, I'll tell you, it hurts!" Shane said, wincing from the memory. Alex burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh my gosh! That reminds me of the American Music Awards two years ago! Some boy in a band fell on his knees on broken glass! But he was fine." Alex told him. Shane blushed.

"Well he tripped! _And_ he didn't get stitches like he was supposed to!" Shane argued. Alex eyed him suspiciously.

"Shane...why are you sticking up for some klutz in a boy band you don't even know?" She asked. Shane didn't look her in the eyes, but he could hear her stomach growl.

"Let's discuss this later, okay? You are injured and need sustenance. So...would you like French toast or pancakes or waffles? Or sausage patties, sausage links or bacon? Speaking of bacon...crispy or not, turkey bacon or regular? Or do you want ham? There's honey hickory ham, honey glazed ham or just plain ham. Or -" Shane rambled. Alex hit his leg with her crutch.

"Shane, shut up! I want two slices of French toast, two sausage links, two sausage patties, crispy turkey bacon, no ham, a blueberry muffin and some grapes." Alex told him, smiling as he blushed for rambling.

Shane stocked her plate with food and then he walked back to the table. He set down her plate heaped with food and helped Alex into the booth and put the crutches by their booth. He left and then came back with two hot chocolates and a bowl of sausage gravy and maple syrup. He left again and returned with his own plate. He placed it down and on the table and then slid into the booth, making sure not to trip on the crutches. He and Alex ate in comfortable silence for about ten minutes when Shane's family entered the dining hall. Shane's back was to the entrance, so he didn't notice, but Alex, who was facing the entrance, noticed.

"Hey Shane, there's your family. Should we invite them to breakfast?" Alex asked, her eyes on the Grays.

The Gray family had puzzled her last night, questioning her about her age, relationship status, her grade point average, hobbies, favorite type of music, her favorite band, her religion and even her ethnic background. She answered the questions as best as she could. She has told Shane's family that she was fifteen, currently single, her G.P.A was 3.2, she liked to shop, read and write, she liked all types of music, her all-time favorite band was Bon Jovi, she was a Christian and half Latino. They'd smiled kindly and made non-memorable idle chit chat for the rest of dinner. They had seemed nice enough. Which was why Alex was surprised when Shane ducked under the booth. Seconds later, Alex was pulled under the booth as well, letting out a yelp of surprise.

Shane clapped a hand over Alex's mouth, holding a finger to his lips, signaling to her that he wanted her to keep quiet. Alex looked up, beginning to roll her eyes, just as Shane removed his hand from her mouth.

"Ew! There's _gum_ under the table! _Gross!_" She said, crinkling her nose in disgust.

"Shhh!" Shane hissed. Alex rolled her eyes and then looked up at the gum.

"Seriously though, this is downright disgusting! People _eat_ at these tables. If there is gum, there are germs, and if there are germs, they spread. Even if they always clean the top, the bottom is covered with germs and they will spread to the top, making it nastier. _Ick_." Alex hypothesized scientifically in a whisper. Shane hushed her.

"Why do you keep telling me to be quiet and why are we under a table? Are we hiding from your family?" Alex inquired.

Shane jerked his head to the side, which Alex interpreted to mean '_no_'. Alex huffed and folded her arms over her chest, lifted her chin in the air with indigence and scowled at Shane.

"Fine, don't answer. See if I care." She sniffed. Shane didn't speak. "So now I'm invisible? Well fine! I'll just be on my way." She snapped, moving to get off the floor, but Shane grabbed her foot, the one connected to her sprained ankle. Alex inhaled sharply, trying not to scream in pain. Shane let go of her foot.

"Sorry, but we need to get out of here without getting caught. Let's go." He whispered, getting on his hands and knees to crawl out of the dining hall. Alex grabbed his hoodie covered bicep, trying not to shiver once she realized how muscular he was.

She shook her head to clear the images of Shane shirtless from her mind. "No. Why should I go with you? You're not telling me what's going on, or why we are hiding from your parents. The last time I checked, it was a free country and I am a legal citizen, therefore, I have the right to do as I please. And getting out from under this table and going back to my cabin would be what I pleased. So, I'm out. Bye." Alex snapped, moving to get out from under the table, but Shane grabbed her hand, the one grasping his hoodie, and covered her hand with his own, not allowing her to move. Alex's eyes locked on his, her brown eyes burning with anger.

"Alex, I'm really sorry. Listen, I'll explain later. I promise, just...let me do this my way and follow me. Please. I promise to tell you. " Shane said, his dark honey orbs staring into hers, pleading with her. Alex sighed.

"Fine." She answered, grudgingly. Shane smiled.

"Okay, let's go." He said, beginning to plan a route.

"Shane, wait. What about my crutches?" Alex questioned. Shane paused to think.

"Alright, here's the new plan. We crawl out of the dining hall and go left. Then I'll carry you to the library. We'll hide out there for a while, then I'll go back and get your crutches. After that we can go wherever you want. Deal?" Shane asked, holding out one hand, all his weight on his left hand and legs.

Alex took his hand in her own. Her hand tingled on contact with Shane's and a jolt shot through her body, the waves spreading from her hands, the epicenter of the electricity, to her toes and the ends of her hands. Her feet felt like it was on pins and needles, while her hair felt like it was standing on end, Alex could practically hear it crackling with static. She gasped and let go of Shane's hand. He looked as shocked and scared as she did, but there was something else in his eyes...excitement? Joy? No...that look, that _sparkle_ in his dark chocolate chip irises looked at her in a very different way.

_Anticipation._

Alex couldn't fight back the sudden impulse to shiver. Shane shook his head to clear it, shaking off the emotions that flowed through his blood. He resisted looking at Alex, just in case he wouldn't be able to control his actions and stop himself from jumping on her. So he focused his energy on the task at hand and peeked out from under the booth instead.

"Good, they're on the other side of the room and the buffet is blocking their view of us. Nate spazes out most of the time and Jason is so hyperactive, he'll never notice us. So we should be safe." Shane reported dutifully, trying not to look at Alex. "I'll go first. Count to five and then crawl after me. Slowly. When you get to the entrance of the dining hall, turn left. Got it?" Shane inquired. Alex nodded, but realized Shane still hadn't looked at her.

"Yeah." Alex answered softly, so softly, in fact, that Shane didn't hear her.

"Whatever, I'm going out. Wish me luck." He whispered solemnly. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Get going before I start playing the James Bond theme song!" Alex whispered, holding back a giggle.

Shane rolled his eyes and poked his head out from under the table. He looked left and then right before he shot across the floor on his hands and knees. Alex slowly counted to five before she began to crawl out from under the table.

However, she got tangled up in her crutches, somehow, and made a big racket. Her cheeks burned as Shane quickly glanced over his shoulder at her. When he looked forward again, he ran into the wall, face first. Alex cringed and untangled herself from her crutches and quickly crawled after him. Shane seemed dazed, but shook it off when Alex crawled past him and out of the dining hall. She made a left turn out of the dining hall, Shane right behind her.

A few crawls outside of the dining hall, Shane stood up and bent over to pick Alex up. He carried her bridal style out of the entrance hall, up the grand staircase, left down the corridor, right around the corner and in the middle of another long corridor he stopped in front of a set of huge solid oak double doors. Alex reached out and turned the brass door knob and Shane stepped back so that she could pull open one of the doors. She pulled it open just enough for Shane to squeeze them through. He walked briskly through shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books, to the far corner of the library. He lowered Alex into a plush armchair. He straightened up and then walked away to shut the door, leaving Alex to marvel at the library.

Alex had never laid eyes on a more beautiful library. Sure, the libraries in New York were fantastic, but New York was better known for it's skyscrapers, traffic and museums, not for it's expanse buildings dedicated to literature. Shane had maneuvered through long rows of bookshelves, ranging from children's to adult, fiction to nonfiction, cookbooks filled with recipes so easy, Alex could use her old Easy Bake oven, to cuisine so difficult, she'd have to be a graduate of a top culinary school. Books in different languages filled the shelves, along with books teaching languages, how-to books and self-help books. Inspirational, spiritual, mystery, humor, children's, picture, romance, biographies, autobiographies, historical, fantasy, anime/manga, comic and so much more filled the shelves of the amazing library, hiding Alex in her own, little secluded nook, consisting two red plush armchairs, an oak table surrounded by chairs, a footstool and a lamp. By the time Alex had gotten comfortable, Shane had returned.

"This place is amazing Shane! How did you come across it?" Alex breathed in amazement, her voice full of wonder and awe, her eyes wide and an excited flush in her cheeks. Shane smiled at her.

"I got lost yesterday after dinner looking for the restrooms. I found it then." He said and Alex laughed.

"By the way, how's your face feeling? You hit the wall pretty hard." Alex said, her voice full of concern. Shane waved a hand carelessly as he sank into the other armchair.

"It's nothing, really. I think I did more damage to the wall, honestly." He joked. Alex smiled at him, but her smile turned into a frown when she remembered why they had left.

"Shane, you said you'd tell me, so why did we hide and then sneak out? Did it have to do with your family?" Alex asked, worried that she wasn't exactly permitted to be with Shane. Her suspicions were confirmed when Shane's cheeks tinted pink with guilt.

"You see, Alex," Shane began, seeming to struggle to find the words. Alex waited patiently. "I'm not...let's say, my parents don't approve of me spending time with you. They think I'm too old for you, but-"

"Too old for me? We're just friends, right? What's wrong with us spending time together?" Alex cut him off. Shane looked at Alex impatiently.

"Let me finish." He told her and Alex pursed her lips, her eyes flashing with anger and annoyance. "But I don't see the problem. I like spending time with you." He finished.

"Can I talk?" Alex asked and Shane nodded. "Good." She replied bluntly before continuing, "I don't see the problem. We're just hanging out. Just because we made a date and canceled and rescheduled and dated doesn't mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend. Why would your parents not -" This time, Shane cut her off.

"They think I like you as more than a friend. And they don't like the fact that I'm older." Shane supplied.

Alex was still confused. "But why would they think that? Unless you like me as more than a friend, which you don't..." Alex droned off and froze as Shane looked away, a dark red blush creeping into his cheeks.

Alex's eyes widened and her mouth formed an '_O_' of surprise.

"You - you like me as more than a friend...don't you?" Alex whispered. Shane nodded. "But what about your family? And your age? Not to mention my family and my age." Alex pointed out. Shane's head snapped to face her and his muddy brown eyes locked on hers.

"I don't care. My family is too strict as is. And l- love is love. Love knows no age, no sex, nothing but what it is. And that is the attraction between two people, drawing them together." Shane said lowly, but with a surprising amount of force and passion. Alex blinked.

"Love? Shane, we're only teenagers. How can we possibly know what love is like? Not to mention, how can you be sure its love? We just met." Alex pointed out logically. Shane shook his head. Love didn't know logic either, apparently.

"Everything happens for a reason. We were both on the slope, you fell, I helped. Our parents met and scheduled a dinner." Shane argued.

"Coincidence." Alex replied automatically, but her voice wavered, unsure.

"Fate." Shane responded firmly.

"Fine, but still..._love?_" She asked skeptically.

"Don't deny it. From the moment we shook hands, there was electricity. And more than a spark." Shane stared into Alex's eyes harshly, as if he was searching for something.

She shifted in her seat and gulped. _What if Shane's right? I mean, those _are_ an awful lot of coincidences to happen, so close to each other and each time it brought us closer together. Maybe it _is_ fate. Maybe there is something between Shane and I. But still, we are too young and our parents would flip._

Shane saw the uncertainty on Alex's face. _No! She has to realize that we have to try!_ Shane thought desperately. He was tired of family love, of fan love and sick and tired of Bridget love. He needed _real_ love. And something in his heart told him that Alex was what he needed, well, more like _who_ he needed.

_But how will I get her to realize we have to try. We have to...or I'll die. I need to know if there is such a thing as love. And all the signs point to Alex. I just have to get her to feel the same...I know she felt the sparks. I _know_ it. And if that was just our hands..._ An idea popped into Shane's head and he jumped to his feet and quickly walked the three feet to the front of Alex's chair.

The fifteen year old girl looked up at him in surprise, but Shane barely registered her emotions right then. He merely cupped Alex's chin in his warm palm and slowly, gently titled her head back, her chin lifted up. He bent over her and lowered his lips to hers, closing his eyes. Alex's eyes fluttered shut as well, anticipating what was to come. Shane's lips finally met Alex's and neither teenager was prepared for what happened next.

Electric jolts shot through Shane's body and his legs gave out. He fell to his knees on the hardwood floor of the library and pain shot through his knee caps and up and down his legs, but nothing mattered, seeing as his lips were still magically attached to Alex's lips. The rest of his body was filled with pins and needles from head to toe. Shane's hands cupped Alex's face, pulling her closer. Alex moved forward in her chair, her legs on the outside of his muscular torso. Her hands moved to his shoulders, gripping them tightly. Alex's fingertips seemed to burn through his hoodie, shirt and wife beater, scorching his skin. Shane pressed his lips to her's harder, only to have her deepen the kiss with just as much, if not more, force than he had just used on her.

They pulled apart only when they saw stars dancing behind their eyelids and swayed, dizzy from lack of oxygen to their lungs and brains and they thought (with what little brain power they had left) that their lungs would shrivel up. The breathless couple detached their lips, breathing harshly through their noses, their lungs bursting with air and the world sharpened as they recovered from the dizziness. Their chests rose and fell quickly, panting harshly, their bodies seemed to be glowing gold, their cheeks bright pink from exertion and their lips were both sinfully ruby red and swollen from the heated kiss.

Shane pressed his forehead to Alex's gently. They both jumped a little when a faint jolt shot through them from that minimal amount of contact. They breathed in intervals; Alex breathing out just as Shane breathed in and vice versa. Shane's eyes burned holes into Alex's brown maple orbs.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, his voice hoarse from the kiss. Alex bit her swollen red lips and chewed it thoughtfully before answering the only way she knew how.

Alex's lips attacked Shane's as if they were magnetized. Her hands moved from his shoulders to gripping his neck as her other hand shot to his straight black hair, her fingers intertwining in his silky strands. She squeezed the outside of his torso with the insides of her thighs and pulled herself closer to him, the jets of electricity shooting through their bodies numbing them. Shane fell onto his back on the hardwood floor, his legs collapsing and he sat on his own legs. He moved them out from under himself and Alex so that they were straight out in front of him. Alex's thighs squeezed his muscular midsection even tighter, further restricting his breathing. Alex ignored the lack of air, especially when Shane's left hand rested on the back of her neck, his fingers tangled into her dark brown locks as his right hand pressed into the small of her back, pulling their bodies even closer together.

They finally broke apart, frantically gasping for air.

"Does that answer your question?" Alex asked breathlessly, once she'd gotten a little air in her lungs.

"Yes." Shane murmured, sliding his right hand down her shoulder and moved his hands to rest on her hips. He stroked her sides with his thumbs, closing his eyes, content. Alex smiled and lied down on top of him, her head turned so that she rested her cheek on his muscular chest, rising and falling as he breathed. She listened to his heartbeat as he breathed in the smell of her apple shampoo and her vanilla and honey body wash before they both dozed off.

_**JBJBJB**_

_Okay, so that's the latest update of _Meet Me Under the Mistletoe_! Thanks for being so patient, everyone. I don't know how many more chapters it will be, but more than two for sure. And please, please, PLEASE give me feedback. Remember how long it took me to update? Well, if you don't want a repeat of that, please leave feedback! I'll make it easy on you, answer these questions:_

_**1.)** _Do you think Shane and Alex should plan secret dates? And if so, where?

_**2.)** _Should Justin, Max, Jason, Nate and/or their parents find out they are together and pull them apart? _(Remember how much I hate Romeo and Juliet, people!)_

_**3.)** _Do you think there should be more background on their parents and siblings thoughts and activities? If so, what do you want them to think and such.

_Easy, simple questions._

Mollie_, thank you so much for the ideas on the story I had to send into my instructor. You are a serious lifesaver and I thank God that I have you as a friend. Honestly, you are really inspirational and I wish we could meet, cause you're just awesome and amazing. I know that was corny and crappy, but that's how I honestly feel._

Amber_, thanks for the AMAZING reviews you leave, they really give me a feel for what I should do to make my stories. I know I might not always follow your ideas, but they inspire me to do other things, so it's still a big help. I think you leave the biggest reviews everytime! And thank you sooo much for the AWESOME trailer! I LOVE IT!_

Eden_, seriously, where HAVE you BEEN? Jeez, I know you have a life and all, but I miss emailing you and get a response. When I PM you, I forget what I wrote by the time you reply! _*Sighs and shakes head*_ What in the world am I gonna do with you? Well, I COULD take you to a JB concert...if I had money, lol._

_And _Bridget_, I totally didn't realize I used your name as Shane's crappy ex-girlfriend. I'm so sorry! I was gonna go with Brittney, but my cousin's name is Brittney and although she's not the sharpest needle in the sewing kit, she's family. And I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Sorry! And of course I want a sequel for _All I Want For Christmas Is You_!_

_And last, but certainly not least,_ Cara_. This whole thing is for you, my amazing soul twin sister. Thank you so much for everything and putting up with me and sticking by my side even when my mom banned me from Fanfiction for the stories I wrote (including this one). You're the best twin a girl could ask for! Here's to you, you crazy Shalex lover!_

**Chapter Name:** Crutches and Closets

**In The Next Chapter:** _"Exactly. I'm Peter Pan, but I am growing up, but my soul isn't. And you are my Wendy, young, but mature beyond your years, yet still suspectable to fairytales. And this," Shane unlaced his fingers from Alex's and removed her hand from his cheek, but he kept his right hand over hers and spun her to face the double door. He still held her left hand in his and placed the hand over her stomach, holding her hand there with his. His right hand pulled her right hand to the doorknob, his hand grasping hers. He placed his chest against her back and leaned his head forward, his mouth by her left ear. With his hand still around hers, she began to turn the doorknob._


	4. Chapter Four: Crutches and Closets

**Summary**: _Alex Russo and her family go to a skiing lodge for their winter break vacation, as well as Shane Gray and his family. What can come from a skiing accident? Fifteen year old Alex Russo and seventeen year old Shane Gray go through the twists and turns of a relationship. To stay together, they have to dodge their parents and siblings, but in a life of lies how do you know what's real and what's not? Find out in:_ Meet Me Under the Mistletoe!

**Rating**: _T_

**Author**: UtterlyRandom

**Disclaimer**: _I'm only saying this once... I don't own anything but the plot._

**Chapter Name**: Crutches and Closets

_**JBJBJB**_

"Well Alex, that ankle healed up pretty quickly, I must say. It must not have been as bed as I had previously thought." Dr. Walters said, examining Alex's ankle.

Alex smiled. "I guess I'm just a quick healer!" She chirped, giddy.

Dr. Walters shot Alex a look before continuing her examination of Alex's ankle. While Dr. Walters went over Alex's ankle, poking and prodding, Alex let her mind wander.

It had only been two days since she and Shane hooked up in the library. Unfortunately, Shane's parents had signed him up for skiing lessons. They were worried that he'd up with a sprained ankle or worse. So Alex had nothing to do but wait for him.

"Dr. Walters, I don't think I'm ready to hit the slopes just yet." Dr. Walters looked up from Alex's foot and smiled. "So...is there anything I can do around the lodge?" Alex asked.

"Hmmm, there is a group of kids who sometimes don't feel like skiing or hanging out with their parents so they're placed in the daycare at the lodge. Maybe you could stop by and play or read to them or something. I'm sure they'd appreciate that." Dr. Rebecca Walters said. Alex nodded thoughtfully and Dr. Walters finished her exam.

"Well, you're healed! Just be easy on your ankle and stay off the slopes until you are properly trained." Dr. Walters informed Alex. She stood up, gathering up the medical gauze that had covered Alex's foot, the boot Alex had worn and the crutches.

"Enjoy the rest of your vacation Alex." Dr. Walters said.

Alex smiled. "I will, thank you!" She called as Dr. Walters shut the door.

Alex stood up, gingerly applying weight to her healing ankle. It hurt, but not as bad as before. Alex checked out the time on her cell phone. It was three. Shane's lessons were over at 3:15. She decided to pay him a visit and meet him at the lodge. Alex quickly got ready and wore both of her snow boots this time. She shut her cabin door behind herself and hurried, limping slightly, to the lodge.

Alex saw Shane standing in the middle of the Great Hall, his back to her. She carefully walked up to him and stopped about a foot away. She leaped forward with her good foot and threw her arms around Shane's neck.

"Hey Shane!" Alex greeted him.

Shane jumped and tried to get Alex off of him, but it was too late.

"Shane?" Alex heard Shane's mother gasp while her mother said her name in the same shocked voice, at the same time.

"What are you two doing?" Denise Gray demanded, her hands clenched into fists and placed firmly on her hips, her eyes narrowed. Theresa Russo stood at Mrs. Gray's side, mirroring her stance. Both mothers stood there, expecting an explanation from their teenagers.

Alex removed her arms from around Shane's neck and stood at his side, her hands clasped in front of her body.

"Busted." She whispered, though her mouth didn't move. Shane inclined his head in agreement.

"Well?" Mrs. Russo questioned.

Alex and Shane quickly glanced at each other, not moving their heads. Shane's lips lifted a little on the left, smirking in a half smile. Alex smirked too, knowing he had a plan.

"Oh, Alex and I were playing around. We're supposed to sneak up on each other and try to scare one another." Shane turned his head to smile at Alex. "I guess we know who won." He stated.

Alex looked back at their mothers to see if they bought it. The expression on their faces was enough for Alex to know it hadn't sold. So she decided to play up her part.

"Yep! I won! Seriously Shane, I could've won _blindfolded_, you were such an _easy_ target!" Alex bragged convincingly. She saw their mothers flicker of doubt, wondering if their teenagers were telling the truth. Alex quickly moved to end their suspicions.

"Honestly! Standing there, out in the open...I totally win! So...give me my prize." Alex said, holding out her hands expectantly.

Shane panicked as Alex and their mothers stared at him, waiting. He smiled as the lightbulb went off in his head. He quickly put his arms around Alex's neck, holding her in a headlock and have her a noogie. Alex groaned and shoved him off, ignoring the sparks coursing through her body that had nothing to do with the amount of static electricity in her hair. She stood up and fixed her appearance before facing the mothers again.

"Oh, I thought it was...something else." Mrs. Gray said, embarrassed by her thought.

However, Theresa Russo was an independent Latino woman, therefore, embarrassment was nothing but a pebble on her rocky road of motherhood. Alex knew that she wouldn't have to wait long to hear her mother's opinion. And she was right.

"I thought you two were dating." Theresa Russo stated bluntly.

Alex opened her mouth to answer, but Shane jumped to shoot down the ridiculous, but true, statement.

"Oh no, Mrs. Russo. You've got it all wrong. Alex is too young for me, not that she isn't beautiful," Shane's gaze flickered to Alex's crumbling face for a moment before flitting back to their mothers, as if he had never looked away. "But I don't look at Alex that way. She's like a kid sister to me." Shane chuckled for good measure.

Alex was almost devastatingly heartbroken, but when their mothers glanced at each other, questioning Shane's rejection to the accusation, Shane winked at Alex. A flood of relief, love and happiness washed over Alex and she smiled at Shane quickly before their mothers turned their faces back to their children.

"Oh, well in that case..." Theresa smiled at Mrs. Gray. "Denise, do you want to tell Alexandra here what Nate told you last night?" Alex's mother asked excitedly.

Alex saw Shane clench his hands into fists out of the corner of her eyes. _Nate? Who's Na- oh, right. Shane's little brother. Duh._ Alex recovered quickly from her memory lapse, chiding herself for her stupidity. However, her mental lecture was cut short by Mrs. Gray's response.

"Of course Theresa." Denise Gray turned to Alex. "Last night after dinner, Nate told me that he thought you were a very interesting, intelligent, beautiful young lady. And I couldn't help but notice you looking at him a few times last night, so I was wondering if you'd like to see Nate sometime." Denise finished.

Alex began to shake her head, but caught Shane's pointed glare out of the corner of her eye. He wanted her to agree? Agree to meeting with Nate, which sounded an awful lot like a date in disguise? Alex couldn't fathom it, but she trusted Shane's judgment and turned her previous action of shaking her head into a nod.

"Yeah, I'd like to see Nate. Um, I'm off of my crutches now, bu-" Alex didn't get to finish her sentence.

"Oh good!" Was Mrs. Gray's reaction.

"That's wonderful, now our family vacation isn't ruined!" Mrs. Russo breathed out in happiness.

Alex ignored their reactions and waited for Shane's reaction, the only one of the group who's opinion truly mattered.

However, Shane didn't react. Alex stared at him, her head cocked and her big brown eyes full of confusion.

_Isn't he happy? Those crutches were nothing but a burden to him. And me. So why isn't he happy that I'm healed?_ Alex puzzled over Shane's lack of response.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey, what were you saying before I interrupted?" Mrs. Gray asked politely.

It took Alex a moment to collect her thoughts again. "Oh, um..." She thought back, wondering what she had been about to say. "Oh, right! I was saying that Nate and I could, um, hang out tonight at my cabin." Out of her peripheral vision, Alex saw Shane wince at her words and Alex felt a wave of guilt wash over her. "See, my ankle is healed, but it's really starting to hurt again. Nate and I could just watch a movie, but if that'd be too boring for him, he doesn't have to." Alex said the last part hopefully.

Mrs. Gray didn't pick up on Alex's hope. "Oh, Nate'll be thrilled to hear that! I'm going to go tell him." Mrs. Gray turned to Theresa.

"I'll meet you at the spa. I've got to go tell Nate and-" Mrs. Gray turned to Shane. "Where will you be?" She questioned.

Shane racked his brain for an excuse. "Oh, I met some guys at the ski lesson. We're going to hang out in the game room, grab something to eat and then hang out at this one boy's cabin to play video games. He bet me he's better at Guitar Hero than me." Shane responded.

Denise rolled her eyes. "You boys and your gadgets!" She turned to face Theresa and Alex. "I practically had to drag Jason away from his laptop today. And I nearly dislocated Nate's wrist when I tried to get his Blackberry out of his hand." She shook her head in disbelief before turning back to Shane.

"Just spend some time outdoors, okay?" Mrs. Gray looked at the elegant, expensive watch on her wrist. Alex was willing to bet that it was made of pure silver or platinum.

"Oh! I've got to go tell Nate or I'll miss him." She glanced up at Alex. "He's taking snowboarding lessons too." Mrs. Gray explained and she pulled Shane down to her height and pecked him on the cheek before rushing out of the lodge.

Alex, Shane and Mrs. Russo stared at each other before speaking.

"Well, I'm going to the spa. Alex, feel free to get dinner-" Alex's eyes flickered to Shane before settling back on her mother's eyes. "With Nate." Theresa finished and Alex sighed.

"Alright mom, bye." She answered and she and Shane waited until Mrs. Russo had walked away before turning to face each other.

"I can't _believe_ you made a _date_ with my baby _brother_." Shane hissed at the same time as Alex said, "Are you really going to play video games and stuff for the rest of the day?"

"No." Shane answered as Alex told him, "Oh, like I had a choice!" They glared at each other.

Shane's eyes softened as he placed is hand on Alex's cheeks and stroked her soft skin with his thumb. "Well, I have to make friends to tag along with and you have doomsday, oh, excuse me, dooms_date_ with my baby brother, we can hang out." Shane murmured, his face getting closer to Alex's, stopping with his lips just inches from hers.

"What will we do? I don't want to ho to the arcade or to my cabin, I'll be a prisoner there all night." Alex complained. Shane silenced Alex by pressing a finger to her lips, his dark chocolate eyes becoming darker as they stared into Alex's shaded honey orbs.

"I can think of a few things we could do." Shane responded mischievously, his hot, moist breath against Alex's lips causing her to shiver.

"And what exactly are you thinking about?" Alex mumbled against Shane's finger.

Shane removed both hands from her face and instead grabbed her left hand in his right hand and ran, pulling her out of the Great Hall and up the grand staircase, turning right at the top of the steps and began weaving through the hallways of the lodge. Walls and doors blurred by Alex as she was pulled throughout the large lodge.

Shane finally stopped when they were standing in front of huge, grand and thick double oak doors, just like the ones that led to the library. Alex reached for the crystal doorknob, but Shane's hand closed over hers and pulled it back, intertwining their fingers at the same time.

"Alex," Alex's head snapped up at the urgency and emotions in Shane's low voice. It sounded like he was going to confess something to her, but she knew that Shane would never do anything that would require a confession. Not to mention, she'd only known him for a few days, what could he have done in that time span?

"Alex, please, listen. This...this is very important to me and a big step for me, so, please, just...just listen." Shane pleaded quietly and Alex nodded gravely, hearing the need in his voice.

"My family used to come here every winter break when I was little. I was lonely all the time, even though I had my brothers, Jason had always had his best friend because his best friend's family came with us on every vacation. Our parents had friends, Jason had his friend, Mike, and Nate had his friend, Lucy, Mike's little sister, but I had no one. The year I was nine, I broke my wrist on the slopes. I couldn't ski, have snowball fights or even play video games with only one hand. So I explored the lodge." Shane told Alex in a voice barely above a whisper, but Alex could hear the loneliness and sadness in his voice that reflected his childhood memories.

"Then I found this room." Alex glanced at the door to her left and then looked back at Shane. "It amazed me, giving me a different perspective on things. See, I'd never gotten along with anyone my age, I was too busy trying to be grown up enough to hang out with Jason and Mike or being overly babyish enough to play with Nate and Lucy. I was the most messed up kid ever." Shane shook his head at the memory. He looked back into Alex's eyes ruefully.

"I would wear Jason's clothes to make myself look older, but they were way too big. I drowned in them." Alex pictured a nine year old Shane wearing clothes fit for an eleven year old, his shirt sleeves at his elbows instead of at his shoulders, tripping over the too long jean legs. Alex smiled, but tried to bite it back so she wouldn't hurt Shane's feelings. Shane noticed her dilemma and smiled.

"Smile, it's funny." He assured her. Alex smiled and he used his free hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear before he continued his story.

"But while I tried to be grown up, I didn't want to be. Maybe it was my inner child rebelling." Shane shrugged offhandedly. "I would take Jason's chapter books, intending to read them to show how grown up I was, but I didn't understand them. And when Nate and Lucy asked me where a coloring book was, I gave them Jason's chapter books and we colored on the pictures in his chapter book. And when Jason and Mike wanted to ride their bikes to the park, I would tag along. But I had never bothered to learn how to ride a bike since Nate and Lucy still rode tricycles. So I rode Jason's old bike, still with training wheels. I could never keep up with Jason and Mike, but I couldn't slow down to Nate and Lucy's pace. I was stuck in the middle with no way out." Shane grimaced from the memory.

Alex placed the hand that Shane wasn't holding on his face, cupping his cheek. Shane moved his free hand to the hand cupping his cheek and leaned into her touch as his hand covered hers, holding it there.

"But it got worse on vacations. At least at school, there was someone to socialize with, but here...I was alone. Then I found that room and, suddenly, it was all I needed. I was never lonely and there was always a new glimpse on how to see things. Those old proverbs are wrong. The world isn't black or white, nor is it shades of gray, it's millions of colors, each making a new view. Light, dark, neon, faded...the list is endless. But when you combine the colors...wow." Shane breathed, his eyes wide and bright, like a child in a candy store, his voice filled with amazement and respect. Like a child...

That's when it hit Alex. Shane _was_ a child. He had transformed back into the nine year old he had been when he first found the room. Everything made so much more sense now. When she had fallen, childhood curiosity had made Shane approach her, but his natural responsibilities of his age had told him to get her help. And when they crawled like babies to avoid his family yesterday morning at breakfast, that was his childlike imagination kicking in, but when he had kissed her, he was being as passionate as a man. And just now, he had told their mothers that they were playing tag, as if they were too extremely bored children stuck inside on a rainy day, and now he was sharing a secret Alex knew he had never shared with anyone before because he was using the ability of good judgment and trustworthiness. It was almost like...Alex's eyes widened in enlightenment.

Shane had faith that Alex would believe everything he said, and she did. Shane had trusted her with his most precious, protected secret, and she would take it to the grave. And Shane, his body was growing like a normal boy and his mind was brilliant, but Shane was a child. It was like he had became an adult, while he remained a child. The only things he needed in life were...

"Faith, trust and pixie dust." Alex breathed softly, but Shane heard and nodded.

"Exactly. I'm Peter Pan, but I am growing up, but my soul isn't. And you are my Wendy, young, but mature beyond your years, yet still suspectable to fairytales. And this," Shane unlaced his fingers from Alex's and removed her hand from his cheek, but he kept his right hand over hers and spun her to face the double door. He still held her left hand in his and placed the hand over her stomach, holding her hand there with his. His right hand pulled her right hand to the doorknob, his hand grasping hers. He placed his chest against her back and leaned his head forward, his mouth by her left ear. With his hand still around hers, she began to turn the doorknob.

"Is my Never Land." Shane whispered into Alex's ear as they pulled the door completely open, bathing them in light. Alex gasped.

The room they were in had to the most amazing site Alex had ever see. The walls surrounding them were made of adjustable mirrors, reflecting millions of colors into another mirror and refracting against each other, causing more lights. Alex looked everyone, but couldn't tell where the color originated from. Shane sighed with content and set his chin on her left shoulder.

"Look up." He murmured softly into her ear. Alex did as instructed, tilting her head back until it reclined on Shane's shoulder, and gasped.

Te ceiling was made of stained glass. The light coming through the ceiling reflecting and refracting off of the mirror surrounding Alex and Shane.

Shane smiled at Alex's reaction. "Look down." He ordered kindly, and Alex's head dropped. The floor was white and so shiny, it could've been mistaken as another mirror, but it didn't reflect as much as the mirrors on the wall did, leading Alex to believe that it was really just a well-polished floor.

"Look to our left." Shane suggested quietly, his hot breath on her ear causing Alex to tremble, but she lifted her head up and looked to the left and inhaled sharply.

"Shane! Look at us!" Alex whispered breathlessly.

A mirror was pointed at them, not reflecting any colors, but just showing them. However, the billions of other mirrors in the room were reflecting the light onto them. In the mirror, Alex's hair glowed a golden color with bits of autumn red and chocolate brown thrown in. Her fair skin was doused in peachy colors, making her pale skin glow. Her eyes sparkled like two melted down Hershey kisses, but her lips shined the color of country apples. Alex tore her eyes away from her reflection and looked at Shane's reflection.

Shane's straight dark brown hair was a dark black at the roots and were dark brown at the tips, making it look like he had a halo around his head. His tan skin glowed bronze-gold, causing him to look immortally handsome and less human-like. His dark brown eyes had turned the color of two, wet, black pebbles, but shined in a friendly way. Alex's eyes locked with Shane's in the mirror, neither of them breaking their gaze.

"I never needed anyone. Not with all these reflections and light." He explained in a low voice, rubbing circles on Alex's stomach with his fingertips while he traced meaningless patterns on the palm of her right hand.

"Until now. I never let anyone know about my Never Land." His hot breath making the hair on the back of Alex's neck to stand up.

"But not anymore. Now I need my Wendy to make my Never Land complete." Shane said, his voice slightly above a whisper, and spun Alex around to face him.

"Alex, Peter Pan can live without Wendy, but he didn't want to. It killed him to let her go, but he was a child, easily distracted by the mermaids, the Indian princess and Tinkerbell. But I'm a kid with a messed up structure. I'm not-" Shane struggled with his words.

Alex waited patiently, her eyes searching his. They lit up when he found a way to explain.

"I'm not completely...sane. I don't..._think_...like everyone else." Shane explicated, and Alex looked away for a moment.

Alex smiled. "My brothers always told me I was crazy, I'd always known I was insane." She turned his sparkling eyes up at Shane, who smiled back.

"The perfect couple." Shane responded, leaning his head toward hers, their lips almost touching when Alex stopped him.

"No, the most messed up couple." Alex corrected.

"Even better." He murmured, his breath hot and moist on Alex's lips. He pressed his lips to hers softly. Alex smiled and kissed him back.

xXx

Shane and Alex had an early dinner and went in search of some alone time before Alex had her movie date with Nate. Shane had pulled her into a lounge, which was, thankfully, empty, and threw her down on the couch before jumping on top of her, grabbing her wrists in one hand and pinning them above her head. Shane crashed his lips onto hers roughly, her mouth moving against his just as forcefully. Shane's free hand danced up and down her side before slipping under the hem of her shirt, fingers gently flitting across Alex's soft, smooth skin.

Alex moaned into the kiss and Shane's tongue darted out and licked her bottom lip. Alex moaned again, granting Shane access to her mouth. Shane's tongue entered her mouth and they battled for dominance. Alex longed to free her hands so she could tangle her fingers into Shane's thick, dark brown hair and pull him closer. She thrusted her hips up in frustration and Shane moaned into her mouth before pulling away, allowing Alex to breathe.

Alex gasped for air. "Di- did I do som- something wr- wrong?" She panted, chest heaving. Shane's lips immediately attacked her neck.

"No. Never." He answered between kisses. He nipped Alex's earlobe, causing Alex to inhale sharply. He planted kisses down her jawbone before moving to her pulse point. He nipped at the skin, smirking when Alex gasped and began to suck on her pulse point, causing Alex to moan continuously. Shane's lips moved to where her collarbone and neck met and gave it the same treatment. Alex moaned and tilted her head, revealing more of her neck to him.

Just as Shane's lips touched her neck, they heard the grandfather clock in the Great Hall begin to chime. Shane counted the chimes, placing a kiss on Alex's skin with each chime. He got up to eight kisses when the chiming stopped. Alex looked at Shane, confused.

"Are you _sure_ I'm not doing anything wrong?" Alex inquired, frowning and narrowing her eyes at him

Shane laughed lightly. "No, you couldn't possibly do anything wrong. In fact, you're the best kisser I've ever experienced, which is amazing, considering you age." Alex smiled at the compliment and reassurance in his voice before biting her lip.

"Then why'd you stop?" She asked and then it was Shane's turn to frown.

"Well, it's eight...and I don't know what time Nate will be at your cabin..." Shane droned off as Alex groaned.

"Fine. Get off of me." Shane groaned at the frostiness in Alex's voice, but rolled off of her, falling on the floor. He lied motionless on the floor.

Alex sat up on the couch and then stood up, holding out her hands to Shane to help him to help him up. Shane grabbed her hands and pulled her down on top of them, her legs tangling with his, chest to chest, staring into each other's eyes. Shane quickly removed her hands from between their bodies and let go of Alex's hands and grabbed her waist. Shane smirked at Alex before pressing his lips to hers, gently kissing her.

Alex pulled away, but Shane's hands on her waist refrained her from much movement. She rested her chin on his chest, looking deeply into his black coffee irises with her own light toffee orbs. Shane sighed, the air hitting Alex's face, making her blink and blowing her hair back at the same time.

"I thought we had to go." Alex murmured, still staring into his eyes as he lazily rubbed circles on her jean-clad waist.

"We do." Shane agreed, but he didn't remove his hands.

"Why aren't we leaving then?" Alex asked and Shane's eyes flashed, the reason obvious. "Hey! _You're_ the one that encouraged me to make the date!" She protested defensively.

"Yeah, I know." Shane sighed again and Alex raised her eyebrows at him.

"Trust me, it's easier this way. You just have to keep up the charade with Nate, act all...couple-y around him and in public. But it'll just be a cover." He added the last part in a rush, seeing Alex's nose and eyes crinkle with disgust. Alex smiled at his last words and kissed his nose.

Shane blushed, but chuckled and cocked his head and stared at her thoughtfully.

"However, I _am_ curious..." Alex stared at him in confusion, waiting for him to continue.

"Why does pretending to be Nate's girlfriend disgust you so much? Honestly, out of the three of us, he's the most level-headed, talented and intelligent. He's good looking too...so why is it such a chore to be with him?" Shane questioned.

Alex punched his chest with her fist. "_Because_ you dolt, I like _you_!" She shook her head in amazement at his stupidity and obliviousness.

"Why?" Alex narrowed her eyes at Shane.

_What does he mean_ 'why?'_? Isn't it _obvious_? He's_ Shane_, the most sweetest, funniest, kindest, compassionate, well-mannered gentleman I've ever met! Of _course_ I prefer him to Nate. Does that even have to be a question?_ Alex asked herself.

"Apparently not." Shane said, making Alex blush because she had just spoken her thoughts out loud. Shane smirked.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I _wanted_ to hear your thoughts." Shane smiled adoringly at her and removed his hands from her hips. "I guess we should go, I'm not even supposed to be with you." He reminded Alex and she rolled off of him and got to her feet. She held out her hands to help him up. He grabbed them and this time he stood up.

xXx

Shane and Alex walked to her cabin hand in hand. Alex looked like she was thinking about something. Her eyes _seemed_ to be staring straight ahead, but they looked far away. Shane gently nudged her arm with his, effectively knocking Alex of balance and pulling her away from her thoughts.

"What're you thinking about?" Shane asked softly.

Alex glanced up at him before looking away. "I don't want you to leave, but I want to do this...this _charade_ with Nate. For us." Alex added the last part softly and hesitantly, blushing.

Shane smiled and rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb. "Well...I'd stay, but...where would I stay?" Shane asked.

Alex bit her lip, her face scrunched with concentration. Shane smiled at her sweetly. He loved how er eyebrows furrowed together with concentration, her nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to crack a code or find a loophole in a sealed contract. Shane blinked and saw that Alex's facial expression had changed and she was practically bouncing with glee.

"My room!" Shane blinked.

"Huh?" He asked, completely confused.

"My room!" Alex repeated impatiently. They were no longer strolling down the snowy lane at a leisurely pace hand in hand. Instead, Alex had grabbed his right hand with both of her hands and was now pulling him toward her cabin at a much faster pace.

"Alex, what are you talking about?" Shane inquired, mystified.

Alex didn't answer. They had reached Alex's cabin and Alex let go of Shane's hand with her right hand and opened the door. She impatiently pulled Shane into her cabin and turned on the lights. Shane shut the door and walked over to the fireplace to start a fire.

Once Shane had a fire going, he sat on the couch, reclining his head and back on the back of the couch, his arm hanging on the back of the couch and his legs a shoulders width apart comfortably. Alex sat next to him and Shane let his arm fall off the back of the couch and onto her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. Alex fit nicely under his arm, they were a perfect fit. Alex rested her hand on his chest and threw both of her legs over his left leg, so she was being neatly cradled into Shane.

Shane bent his head and pressed his lips to Alex's soft, thick and shiny brown hair. Alex pressed her cheek closer to his chest and breathed in deeply. Shane smelled like Old Spice body wash and TAG All-Nighter. It was a nice smell that tingled in her nose from the sprays scent. Alex placed her left hand on Shane's right thigh, closed her eyes and smiled in content.

"Hey, what were you talking about when you said '_my room_'?" Shane asked softly, running his fingers through Alex's hair.

Alex hummed at Shane's actions and ran her fingertips up and down Shane's hoodie-covered torso. Shane suppressed a shiver and his hand fell from Alex's hair, down her arm and rested on her hip and pulled her body closer to his. Alex sighed in contentment, closed her eyes and burrowed her cheek deeper into his chest, her head rising and falling in time to Shane's breathing.

"Alex, what _were_ you talking about when you said '_my room_'?" Shane repeated, watching Alex nod off on his chest.

Alex blushed, opening her eyes, she sat up, no longer resting her head on his chest, and looked up at him. "Oh, I was saying that you can be with me all night."

Shane's eyes slid shut as his hormone-influenced mind took over. He imagined spending the night with Alex. After several vivid mental images, he shook his head to clear his mind and then opened his eyes to see Alex, who looked heartbroken.

"I'm sorry. I _knew_ it was too good to be true. The whole reason why you made me make a date with Nate was to get me off your back by shoving me to be with Nate." Alex shook her head sadly, her eyes downcast, ripping Shane's heart in half. "I knew it." She whispered painfully as tears slipped down her cheeks. She removed her hands from Shane's chest and thigh, transferred her legs from Shane's legs and began to stand up, but Shane's hand on her hip kept her from moving away. Alex blushed.

_He _obviously_ doesn't want to be with me, so why is he still holding onto me? To convince me to be with Nate? Well, _fine_! Nate's the quieter, sensitive and innocent one. _He_ won't break my heart or lead me on...but I don't _want_ Nate, I want Shane._ Alex whined pitifully in her head, deep in thought. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Shane's low, friendly chuckle.

"Alex, you _really_ need to stop thinking out loud." Shane informed her before placing his lips on her neck. Alex's body temperature rose a couple of degrees at Shane's words. He laughed lightly, the sensation of his lips on her neck combined with his genuine laughter and the heat of his breath on her neck made her embarrassed and turned on at the same time, making her emotions become even more confused.

"Hey, like I said before, I _want_ to know what's going on in that mind of yours." He kissed the top of Alex's head. "And as for the answers to your questions...I _do_ want to be with you, that's why I was holding onto you. And convincing you to be with Nate is the _last_ thing I want to do." Shane shuddered and pulled Alex back into his grasp. "Well, one of the last things I want to do. The _very_ last thing I want to do is lose you or break your heart or make you cry." He amended after thinking for a moment.

"And, yeah, Nate _is_ quieter, more sensitive and _maybe_ a bit more innocent than me, but even he could break your heart and lead you on. And I didn't, or rather, didn't _mean_ to break your heart or lead you on. And I _most definitely_ don't want you to want Nate." Shane answered.

Alex didn't move, so Shane decided to improve their position. He pulled her on top of him, her legs straddling his. He placed her hands on his shoulders and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, pressing their foreheads together.

"So...answer this question for me, why did you think I didn't want you?" He asked.

Alex sighed. "Because you shook your head when I told you about what I meant when I was talking about my room." She responded sadly, still convinced that Shane was just pretending he liked her.

Shane laughed. "Alex, I was trying to clear my head. You've got to understand, I was trying to clear my mind from my thoughts because the way you said that I could be with you all night." Shane pulled his head away from Alex's head to look into her eyes. "I'm a teenage boy. Dirty thoughts." He shrugged and Alex's face burned crimson.

"I- I didn't think..."She inhaled a deep breath of relief.

Shane smiled and pressed his lips to hers before pulling back. "Good, don't think. I'll be in your room all night." Shane assured her before pulling Alex closer to his body and kissing her fiercely.

Alex responded enthusiastically; her arms formed a vice grip around his neck and she tangled her fingers into Shane's thick hair. Shane's hands grasped her waist as his tongue forced its way past her lips and fought her tongue for dominance. His tongue won easily and he turned them over so that she was under his body, lying down on the couch.

Alex moaned as Shane laid on top of her. God! Now was _not_ the time to be getting turned on by the incredibly hot seventeen year old on top of her.

Actually, when one was thinking rationally about it, now was the _perfect_ time to get turned on. After all, they were alone, away from their families and totally absorbed in one another. But Alex wasn't thinking rationally, so she pulled back from Shane, who began to place kisses along her neck, nibbling randomly and giving her hickies. Alex let out a shuddering moan from his actions. Shane smirked and sucked on her collarbone, knowing he was going to make a more-than-noticeable mark, but he knew that the lights would be out and Nate wouldn't be able to see anything. However, if she didn't want her family to catch her, she'd have to wear scarves or something to hide the marks.

Alex knew Nate would soon be knocking on her door and she needed to get a movie to watch. Not to mention she had to get the proper date props, such as popcorn, soda and, of course, the movie. Shane began to kiss and suck on the underside of Alex's jaw and she couldn't resist the urge to moan.

"Shane," Alex moaned, making Shane smirk.

"What?" He breathed as he pressed his lips back to Alex's mouth. Alex kissed him back furiously, her fingers gripping his thick brown hair tightly. Shane slipped a hand under her shirt and began stroking the skin on her tummy. Alex shivered at the feeling of his cold fingers on her, and moaned into his mouth before pulling back for air.

"What were you saying?" Shane murmured as he kissed her neck. Alex paused to think, pouting slightly.

Had she been saying something? She thought for a minute before she remembered and looked up at Shane to see him watching her, smirking in amusement.

"I need to get a movie, popcorn and soda." She panted lowly. Shane laughed at her.

"When Nate gets here, he'll have all that junk, trust me. He's like, the perfect boyfriend." Shane assured her, rolling his eyes.

"I beg to differ. I think my boyfriend is pretty fantastic." Alex mused, running her fingers through his hair again.

He beamed at her before engaging their mouths again. Alex was in the middle of pulling off his hoodie when she heard someone knock on the door. Shane sat up quickly, his eyes darting around the room frantically.

"Just a minute!" Alex shouted and Shane jumped at the loudness of her voice piercing the silence. Alex squirmed from under Shane's body and he got up. Alex jumped to her feet and pushing him toward her room. She turned on the lamp on her nightstand and pushed Shane onto his back on the bed. She quickly jumped on him and kissed him forcefully before climbing off of him. She was standing in the doorway in the blink of an eye.

"I'll be back." She promised before shutting the door to her room. Alex wiped her smeared lip gloss off with the back of her hand and reapplied it before answering the door.

Nate Gray stood outside her cabin in a thick woolen overcoat, a short top hat perched on top of his curls and wearing fingertip-less gloves and holding two plastic bags. Alex smiled up at him.

"Hey Nate! Come in!" She said, stepping to the side to let Nate in. He smiled at her and entered her cabin. Alex shut the door and turned around to face him.

"I brought popcorn, candy and soda. And I got Jack Frost starring Michael Keaton to watch." Nate said, holding up the plastic bags as proof.

Alex's jaw dropped. "I love that movie!" She exclaimed.

Nate blushed, but he was smiling. "Good. I was hoping you would like it." He looked around nervously.

"Uh, do you want to take off your coat and stuff and I'll put in the movie?" Alex asked and Nate nodded in relief.

Alex took the bags from him and set four cans of soda, two Diet Cokes and two regular Cokes, on the coffee table along with boxes of Raisinets, Milk Duds and Sour Skittles and a canister with caramel, cheese and regular popcorn. She pulled the movie out of a bag and popped it into the VCR/DVD player and pushed '_play_' on the remote. Nate turned off the lights, courteously waiting until Alex sat safely on the couch before flipping the switch to cover them in darkness. Nate used the glow of light from the TV to make his way to the couch. Nate sat next to her, the entire left side of his body pressed against her right side.

"Alex, thanks for telling my mom that you'd like to go out with me. I really like you and I appreciate this." Nate said politely.

Alex blushed, hoping he couldn't see in the dark room, even though it felt like the heat was radiating off of her body. "It was no big deal Nate, _trust_ me." She responded.

Nate was silent for a few minutes before speaking. "I know you like Shane." Alex's blood pounded in her ears. "And I'm sorry he turned you down. He's dating this girl named Bridget. She's a big pain in the ass if you ask me. Or if you ask just about anyone. She's just using him for his money. I wouldn't be surprised if he gave her his virginity." Nate told Alex casually.

Alex's blood ran cold. "Sha- Shane has a girlfriend?" She asked, her voice high and pitchy.

Nate looked at her stricken state and his almond shaped eyes filled with sympathy. "Oh, I'm so sorry he didn't tell you." He said softly. Alex nodded and Nate took her left hand in his.

"I wouldn't do that to you, so you don't have to worry." He assured her, but Alex was far from being assured.

xXx

About halfway through the movie, Alex excused herself to her room, telling Nate that she was looking for her hoodie to keep herself warm. She got off the couch and slipped into her room, shutting the door quietly as she turned on the lights. Before she could take a step, lips were crashed to hers and her body was lifted off the ground.

Alex fell on her bed with her lips still attached to Shane's lips. He had slid his tongue into her mouth and they both battled for dominance. Shane won again, but Alex what her real intentions to go to her room were and bit his tongue.

Shane yelped and reeled back, prodding his tongue with his fingers.

"Wha the 'ell was tha fo?" He lisped with his aching tongue.

Alex sat up and glared at him. "For not telling me that you have a girlfriend!" She snapped, her eyes flashing angrily.

Shane blinked. "Wha?" He lisped, still holding his tongue with his fingers.

Alex glowered at him, her eyes lit up dangerously. "Nate just told me that _you_ have a _girlfriend_ named Bridget! So, tell me the truth, are you dating someone else?" Alex demanded.

Shane rolled his eyes as his tongue finally got back some of its feeling. "Nate's just being stupid. I broke up with Bridget before I even got here. Nate doesn't know _anything_ about what's going on in my life, trust me." Shane insisted, his tongue stinging. He made a face at the taste of blood in his mouth.

Alex blushed. "Wow. Why is it that everytime _I_ accuse _you_ of something, _I'm_ the one that ends up embarrassed and guilty?" She questioned.

Shane laughed and held her face in both of his hands and tilted her head up so they were looking into each others eyes. "Because you're so determined that this relationship isn't going to work when all that I'm sure of is that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Shane murmured, his sparking dark brown eyes searching hers. He kissed her on the tip of her nose before laying on top of her again, kissing her lips once more.

Alex moaned as Shane licked her lips and moved his hands to her hips. Alex tangled her fingers in his hair, sighing in bliss. Shane gripped Alex's waist lightly, but firmly, with both hands and stood up. Alex wrapped her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly so she wouldn't fall. Alex moaned loudly when Shane grabbed her butt so he wouldn't drop her. Shane smirked and broke off the kiss.

"Are you enjoying your date with Nate?" Shane asked impishly.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm having _oodles_ of fun." She responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Really? Should I be worried?" Shane inquired playfully.

"No." Alex began to puppy pout. "Shane, will you stay here longer? Even after Nate leaves? Please?" She pleaded, batting her eyelashes and sticking out her lower lip.

Shane closed his eyes and sighed. "Alex, you're wreaking havoc on my hormone's right now, so put that lip away before I attack you." Alex stopped pouting and batting her eyelashes. He opened his eyes again. "Sure, I'll stay here." He narrowed his eyes. "Just don't fuck my brother."

Alex wrinkled her nose. "Ew, gross!" She shuddered. "I don't like his type. He's too quiet and shy for me." Alex informed Shane, who smiled.

"Great. I'd hate to live with the fact that my brother took my girlfriend's virginity." He scowled and winced. "Or the fact that he got action before me."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Hey, I said I wouldn't have sex with Nate. I never said I was a virgin." Alex smirked, but her smirk faded under Shane's glare. "Jeez, can't take a joke." She grumbled.

Shane smiled sweetly. "Nope. Not when it comes to my girlfriend." Shane responded, pressing his lips to Alex's mouth again, effectively ending their conversation as he slipped his tongue past her lips again, letting her taste the blood on his tongue. He gripped her butt tightly in one hand and slipped his other hand under her shirt and camisole, his cold hand rubbing her soft, smooth back.

Alex felt herself slipping down Shane's body, so she gripped Shane's shoulders tightly and tried to push herself up higher in his arms, but Shane just pulled her closer, so that Shane's rapidly erecting cock was between her legs. Alex closed her eyes and let out a loud moan as Shane thrusted her hips into her. Shane began to make hickeys on her neck as he continued to grind his hardening erection into her. Alex threw her head forward, her forehead resting on Shane's shoulder as she moaned.

After a few minutes of grinding, Shane gripped Alex's hips with both hands and thrusted his hips as he pulled her down to meet his thrust. They both let out a long, loud moan in unison and Shane started to fight his teenage hormones, knowing that Alex was only fifteen.

Suddenly, there was a knock at Alex's room door, making Alex and Shane freeze in fear.

"Alex? Are you okay in there?" Nate called from the other side of the door.

Shane quickly let go of Alex and looked at her with panic-stricken eyes. Alex pushed him toward her closet before opening her room door.

"Yes?" She asked Nate, whom was looking over her shoulder, his eyes sweeping the room.

"I thought I heard you..." Nate had the decency to blush. "Um, moaning." He finished, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

Alex felt her own cheeks tint pink. "Oh, um...I guess I was, but only cause is really starting to hurt again." Technically, it wasn't a lie, her ankle was starting to throb.

Nate's blush melted away as concern took over his features. He quickly walked to stand at Alex's side and easily lifted her up into his arms bridal style and carried Alex into the main room and set her down on the couch. Alex covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a yawn. Nate smiled at her and Alex couldn't deny that he looked hot when he smiled.

_Maybe if he smiled more, I'd be attracted to him. After all, Shane is always smiling and even when he isn't smiling, his eyes are twinkling like they do whenever he smiles. If Nate smiled like that all the time, then maybe I would've fallen for him._ But then she remembered Shane's childlike personality._ Well, if I never would've met Shane maybe Nate would've had a chance._

Alex yawned again and rested her head on Nate's shoulder. After all, she was supposed to be his girlfriend. Nate smiled and put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Alex didn't mind, she was cold and he was warm. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, falling asleep in her older boyfriend's younger brother's arms.

xXx

Shane groaned. _When the hell is Nate going to leave?_ He was sore from being in Alex's closet, which only added to how irritated he was at Nate for being allowed to be with his girlfriend only because of something so trivial as age?

_Stupid mothers. Retarded brothers. Fucking age._ Shane scowled. If Nate didn't leave in the next five minutes, Shane was going to knock him out, shove _him_ in the closet and cuddle with _his_ girlfriend on the couch. Shane smiled at the thought of hitting Nate on the head with a club Bam-Bam style, of course. Shane's smile froze on his lips when he head movement in the main room. He opened the closet door a crack and peeked through the crack.

At first all he could see was the light leaking into the room from the main room. Then he saw an odd shadow. It had legs, but the upper body was disfigured and lumpy. The monster's shadow stepped into his view through the crack. It wasn't a shadow of a monster, it was Nate carrying a sleeping Alex to her bed. Shane clenched his hands into fists as jealousy consumed him.

Nate, his perfect, handsome, goody-two-shoes, intelligent, rockstar baby _brother_ was carrying his sleeping, lovable, breathtakingly gorgeous, sweet-as-apple-dumplings, genius, average teenage girl _girlfriend_! Shane tightened all of the muscles in his body in an effort to restrain himself from killing his brother.

Shane watched Nate put Alex on the bed and tuck the blankets around her sleeping form. Shane began to calm down and relax his muscles, after all, his brother was just being the kind, chivalrous, well-mannered gentleman that their parents had raised them to be- OH! _FUCK_ NO!

Shane's body shook in fury as Nate bent down and planted a soft, sweet kiss on Alex's forehead. Alex sighed happily in her sleep and rolled over onto her side.

"Goodnight Alex." Nate whispered before leaving the room.

Shane waited until Nate cleaned up the living room and left the cabin before getting up, his muscles protesting in pain as blood flowed through his body for the first time since he had entered the closet. He stood still for a few seconds, waiting for his headrush to subside. When it did, he pushed the closet door open and shut it before going to Alex's bedside.

"Goodnight Alex, I love you." Shane said, bending and pressing a gentle kiss to Alex's soft lips. He stood up and walked into the living room and then crashed on the couch. Nate was going to be dead the next time Shane laid eyes on him.

_**JBJBJB**_

_Okay, so this is for Cara, Mollie, Haley, Christine, George, Joseph, Matt, Amber, Eden and everyone else who persuaded me to keep writing. Even though only two of the nine people listed talk to me anymore. Oh well. If you read this chapter, review it. I promise, it won't kill you and/or require you to know brain surgery. Thanks._

_If you have any ideas of what should happen next, please tell me. I have no clue where I'm going with this now._

**Chapter:** Lying and Lusting

**Summary:** Fill In At A Later Date


End file.
